Meet Team Tomoko
by Mega-Erofan
Summary: Years can really change a person, but when a Leaf Jonin must join her old Genin squad on a mission to the Sand Village, the past will be met again with both joy and sorrow for more than just her. KankuroxOC Possible TemarixOC and BakixOC
1. Two Years Later

_/C'mon Koemi, calm down,/_ The young Jonin murmurs to herself, nibbling on one of her strawberry pocky as she sat skirmishly in the crowd that lined the top of the arena, where she herself had taken and passed the Chunin exams 2 years ago herself. She was there for her friend and teammate Haru Kurama, who was one of the last battles in thie years Chunin exams. Both he and Fuyuko-her other teammate, had not passed the perliminary rounds of the Chunin exams 2 years ago and Fuyuko dived into last year's exam and much more easily passed while Haru waited and focused on training until this year, now it was his turn to become a Chunin-she knew he would pass. As she knaws away the last of her pocky stick, she hears Haru's names be called from below and she would've squealed but Fuyuko, who was sitting next to her, stuck another pocky in the Jonin's mouth to quiet her before a sound could be projected.

"Don't lose it yet Koemi," The white-haired Chunin beside her blandly states, "Save it for when he actually wins...if he does," She scoffs, brushing a long strand behind her ear.

"He will win," Koemi says, "I know he will," She turns her attention to the battle below, which and just started, nearly knawing off her own fingers as she never took her eyes off the battle. After going through a box's worth of pocky, the crowd cheers at Haru's victory, to which Koemi joins in but limits her cheering volume as much as she could, knowing herself, she'd lose control and nearly wipe out half the arena with a screech.

But after the exams, the two girls wait by the exit for their teammate, who Koemi excitedly graduates with one of the tightest hugs she'd ever given anyone.

"I can't believe it!" The Jonin almost squeals but holds back, "Now you're a real Chunin, I knew you could do it."

"Yeah, so did I," Fuyuko sarcastically cheers, rolling her eyes.

"Thanks Fuyu," Haru blandly thanks the white-haired pessmiscist, "And I'm glad you came Koemi, I knew you'd be here to cheer me on."

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe how many missions I had to go on to free up today," Koemi nervously says, "But I'm glad I did it all," she says before hugging the new Chunin again, "I'm really proud of you,"

Haru chuckles as he hugs back, Fuyuko looking away in disgust with a "bleh".

"Congradulations Haru!" A voice chirps out,

The three turn heads and chuckles as they see their usually abnormal sensei approach the group, doned in her strange array of teal and red clothing.

"Greetings Tomoko-sensei," Haru and Koemi greet, Fuyuko simply rolls her eyes.

"Greetings to you too," Tomoko says with an over pronounced bow, "And Haru," She approaches the boy and lays a huge kiss on the boys forehead, luckily protected by his headband. "I'm so proud of what my student has become, especially after 2 years of training with you, I just knew you could win."

"Thanks Tomoko-sensei," Haru nervously chuckles as his sensei steps away,

"And Koemi, you seem to be doing well yourself," Tomoko says, looking over Koemi. "You definately seem slimmer than when I last saw you leaving the village on your first mission as a Jonin."

"She's done more than lost a few pounds," Fuyuko points out, walking up beside Koemi finally from her spot on the wall. "Her color pallette and hair have changed pretty much...but she's still timid as fuck,"

"Her hair is much shorter...but that was her outfit when she became a Jonin, no more of those dark colors you used to wear as a Genin." Tomoko gleefully chirps,

"Well, as nice as it was to see you again," Haru interrupts, "We need to get going,"

"Yeah," Fuyuko says, draping an arm around Haru. "We're heading out tonight to celebrate kiddo's achievement tonight,"

"I'm no younger than you," Haru defends,

Fuyuko simply shrugs as Tomoko chuckles,

"Alright, I'll leave my students to celebrate, but congradulations again Haru." Tomoko says before walking away, "Make me proud with those ranks you three,"

"We will!" Koemi says,

"So, what to do for the next 5 hours," Fuyuko ponders, leaning on Haru for support as she thinks.

"When did I become a wall to you?" Haru groans,

Koemi giggles as Fuyuko hums in through, completely ignoring Haru, "Maybe Shika would be up to a round of shogi,"

"Dear god, my words fall on deaf ears with you," Haru says, pushing Fuyuko's arm off his shoulders.

"Well, I'm gonna go check up on Shika, catch ya two later." Fuyuko says, walking away.

"Cya Fuyuko," Koemi says before turning to Haru, "I suppose you'll be heading home-you're dad would love to hear about this,"

"Yeah," Haru chuckles nervously, "I just hope my cousins aren't there, they'll annoy the entire time about how the whole thing went, and I'd rather not remember most of it."

"Alright," Koemi says before walking off,

"But where are you heading?" Haru asks,

"I'll probably go check up on Hinata or somebody, I haven't really talked to anyone since I got back yesterday." Koemi says before disappearing around a corner,

Koemi soon finds herself approaching the Hyuga house and peeking into the training area, finding Hinata standing to the side as she watched Neji train with her father. She quietly and quickly approaches Hinata,

"Hi Hinata," The Jonin greets,

"Oh, hi Koemi," Hinata greets, "How was your last mission?"

"Pretty good," Koemi giggles, "But how've you been? I haven't talked to you in a few days,"

"I'm fine, just focusing on my training a bit more," Hinata explains,

"Well, that's good," Koemi says, glancing at Neji training. "Neji seems to be getting better,"

"He's been training real hard since your Chunin exam," Hinata says,

"Wow...that's real commitment there," Koemi sighs, "I wish I could find something like that in a guy,"

Her thoughts fade off to those of her current crush-the one she's had for 2 years now that has barely faded:

_Koemi, Haru and Fuyuko make their way to the 2nd part of the Chunin exams, following everyone else to a huge area with a forest surrounded by a large fence._

_"Damn, that place is huge!" Fuyuko exclaims,_

_"I wonder how big it is exactly?" Haru ponders,_

_"I don't really wanna find out," Koemi timidly squeaks,_

_Fuyuko devilishly glances at Koemi, slinking around Haru to get behind and between the two then proceed to hiss in Koemi's ear, causing her to jump and bump into someone, sending them both crashing to the ground. Once she recovers from her shock, she realizes she's laying on top of someone._

_"I'm so sorry!" She apologizes, quickly squirming off of the person to the side. She looks to see who the person was and meets a pair of midnight black orbs surrounded by lines of purple that matched the shade of her eyes almost. A blush crawls across her cheeks as the person climbs to his feet, "I'm r-really sorry sir," She stutters, looking at the ground in embarassment._

_There's a heavy moment of silence until the heart melting words strike her eardrums, along with a warm chuckle._

_"It's alright,"_

_Koemi looks up, seeing a hand being offered before her, she timidly takes it and is helped to her feet. "Thank you," She timidly speaks before looking up, meeting with dark eyes again-she then noticed the symbol on his headband plate. /He's from the Sand Village...strange, he seems awful kind,/ Before she can speak another word, her team is called up to retrieve a scroll and proceeds to be dragged off by Fuyuko, only able to give a timid wave before disappearing into the dense crowd of Genin. She only ever found out his name later during the preliminaries of the final part...Kankuro._

She sighs dreamily but is snapped from her dream by giggling then gives a light glancing glare to Hinata, "What's so funny?" She asks,

"You zoned out," Hinata explains,

"Again?" Koemi asks, her cheeks tinting light magenta.

Hinata nods, causing the blush to darken and the Jonin to look away. "You were thinking about him again, weren't you?" Hinata asks,

"Can you blame me?" Koemi asks, "He's just...I can't even describe it-you should understand, you're the same way with Naruto."

"You go me there," Hinata says, "But your's lives rather far away, making any relationship impossible."

"We'd find a way arond that," Koemi defends, "It would just take some planning,"

"And many letters," Hinata adds,

"True," Koemi agrees, "But he's smart like that, we'd be able to figure it out...at least if we both put our heads together."

"Well, if you two do end up getting together, I really hope you find a way around that." Hinata wishes,

"Right...same with you and your timidity for Naruto," Koemi says, "Now I better get going, I'm gonna see how my garden's faired with my time away."

"Alright, see you around Koemi," Hinata says,

"Same with you," Koemi responds as she walks away,


	2. New Mission

Koemi groans from the beam of sunlight bursting through her window the next morning as she turns over in her bed and covers her head with her pillow, the previous night of celebrations had her worn and all she wanted to do was sleep, but her alarm clock soon rustles her from the edge of her dreamland. She hits the snooze button and throws her covers off, belting out a yawn before rising from her bed and shuffling into her bathroom. But when she turns on the lights of her bathroom, her eyes catches something ruffle her shower curtain. She slowly turns, grabbing her kunai from its concealed spot behind a hanging hand towel then slowly creeping to the shower curtain. She grabs the shower curtain's edge and quickly pulls the curtain to the side, prepared to strike, but finds no one behind the curtain. She's confused until a yip from below causes her to chuckle. She puts the kunai away then leans over and picks up the light pink puppy from her tub.

"Chou, don't scare me like that," Koemi giggles, rubbing noses with the pup. Chou simply yips before being set down, "Now go downstairs, I'll feed you when I'm done up here." Chou happily yips and trots off; Koemi chuckles and shuts the bathroom door as she turns to her sink. "That silly pup," She chuckles beneath her breath, "Always got me on edge," She opens her medicine cabinet and pulls out her brush and other things before shutting the door again, only to catch sight of a darkly clothed assassin nin where her bathroom door originally blocked. She dodges a kunai then turns, blocking a high kick before throwing the foot away and kicking the assassin back, opening the door and slamming it against the assassin before dashing out of the bathroom and back into her room, grabbing her harp from her bureau. The assassin, dazed from the door, stumbles into Koemi's room, only to become more dazed by the tune from Koemi's harp as she plays it, singing a jutsu name under her breath. Once finished, Koemi tosses her harp onto her bed, dashes at the assassin and ties up their hands with a strip of cloth then puts a kunai to their back. She smirks and spins the assassin around, chuckling as she does. "Always testing me, aren't you sensei?"

The assassin vanishes in a poof of smoke, revealing theirself to be Tomoko, who had somehow untied her hands and now held the cloth strip in her hand. "Indeed," Tomoko chuckles, "I wanted to make sure you're ready for when the real one appears,"

"I'm plenty ready," Koemi says, retrieving the cloth strip from Tomoko. "But let me save that energy for when the actual one appears,"

"Of course," Tomoko chuckles,

"Do you wish to join Chou and I for breakfast?" Koemi asks as she exits the room, "I'm sure she wouldn't mind the company,"

"I'd be happy to," Tomoko says, walking down the hallway. "We can discuss our next mission over breakfast,"

Koemi peeks her head out the door at Tomoko, toothbrush sticking out the side of her mouth. "Mission?" She questions, being muffled by the toothbrush.

"I'll explain once you come downstairs," Tomoko chirps as she climbs down the stairs to the first floor, finding Chou running to her at just a sniff from her unique scent. "_Konichiwa_, Chou, and how are you today?" She says, picking up the pink pup then proceeds to the kitchen as Chou yips and barks. "Aw, how nice," Tomoko coos, ruffling Chou's head before setting her back down. "Koemi will be down in a bit, okay?" Chou yips and trots over to her food bowl then sits and waits,

A few minutes later, Koemi climbs down her stairs and enters the kitchen, tying her light cyan sash around her waist. She looks up and discovers Tomoko was cooking at her stove had already cooked up enough to feed herself and was finishing up on frying another egg.

"I hope you don't mind me doing the cooking," Tomoko says as she transfers the cooked egg to a prepared plate, "I'm not one to patiently sit around,"

"It's alright," Koemi chuckles, walking over to Chou as Tomoko carries their plates to the table. She steps into the pantry and pulls out a small bag of treats, pouring them out into Chou's bowl before tossing the empty bag into the trash and joining Tomoko at the table. "So, what's this new mission all about?" She asks as she nibbles on the end of a strip of bacon,

"Tsunade said we were actually referred to this mission by another Jonin because of Haru's performance during the Chunin exams," Tomoko explains as she cuts her eggs up, "When she first explained it, I thought she was speaking of a simple bodyguard mission with how she was putting it-at least until the village and person were mentioned."

"Well, where are we going?" Koemi asks as she finishes her strip of bacon,

"Sunagakure," Tomoko states,

Koemi freezes as she started to nibble on her second bacon strip, _/Sunagakure? Does that mean I'd get to see-?/_ Her cheeks flush as Tomoko continues eating and speaking,

"We're being sent to assist in protecting the Kazekage, since recently there have been shifty figures around the village." Tomoko goes on, "Tsunade wants to make sure the Kazekage remains safe, so she's sending help as any good ally would do."

"Right," Koemi sighs before starting to nibble on her second strip of bacon. Tomoko continues on about the conditions and such as she faded out of the conversation into her daydreams of what could possibly happen, how she and Kankuro would somehow meet up with one another. Would they bump into each other in the street? Would he be helping to protect the Kazekage as well? Would they be paired up for some strange but coincidental reason? So many scenarios flew through her mind before she suddenly realized the importance of the mission and snaps back into the conversation.

"-so we need to be very careful since no one's been able to get a peek at who or what these figures are," Tomoko finishes as she bites a strip of her bacon in half, "But do you think we could handle the mission-two Chunin and two Jonin?"

"Absolutely!" Koemi says with a nod, "I-I mean, Haru and Fuyuko are very strong for Chunin, and with you and myself as Jonin, we'd be perfect for the mission."

"I thought you'd agree," Tomoko chirps as she takes her dishes to the sink, "Haru and Fuyuko thought the same thing; I'll inform Tsunade that we'll be taking the mission then, and we can head out tomorrow morning."

Koemi nods and Tomoko heads off with a goodbye before disappearing in a poof of smoke. As Koemi cleans up, her thoughts go back to any situation where she and Kankuro would meet up, but as she's washing the dishes, she begins to wonder if Kankuro would even remember her. It had been quite a while since they last saw each other-two years, a month and three days, on the dot, so how would he remember someone like her? Her memory fades to the past as she leans on the sink, to when she and her squad were in the forest with their scroll. They had been making their way to the tower in the center rather quickly, but she somehow had gotten separated from the two other-and she had been assigned to hold the scroll that day-the very first day. That day was the second time she ran into him:

_~Koemi runs along, trying to find where her teammates had disappeared to, but she could not find a trace of them. She felt both afraid and ashamed-she had lost her team on the first day of this part of the exam in the middle of a huge, dark forest full of who knew what. She hurries along, soon tripping over the end of a huge tree root and faceplanting against the ground, losing the scroll she gripped in her hand. She quickly attempts to recover and looks up to find where the scroll went, only to find the feet of another team before her. She locks up in fear, her only thoughts being of failure and death as she slowly looks up, finding relief at the one familiar face above her-the Sand Genin she unwillingly had knocked over in fright before this part of the exam began. She shuffles to her knees as the female of the trio picks up the scroll and chuckles with a smirk,_

_"Well, she has a Scroll of Earth as well," She says,_

_She sighs in relief at those words, it meant she would possibly not lose the scroll. She attempts to stand but is held down by a strange force, she looks around and finds her arms entrapped in what appeared to be sand-she was trapped._

_"I don't believe you'd have a Scroll of Heaven, would you?" The female asks; Koemi shakes her head, her gaze now back on the ground. "And you've lost your teammates as well?" Koemi nods, her head hanging in shame. "Well," The female sighs, "We could just as easily take this to give to another team," Koemi locked up-could they still take another scroll, even if they had both of them already? "Hey, give it back Kankuro!"_

_Koemi hears footsteps approach then is presented the scroll before her, she looks up and meets the face of the Sand Genin she had somehow fallen for._

_"I think she's having it hard enough, Temari," Kankuro says, "At least give her a chance before we go taking what we don't need,"_

_Temari simply scoffs; the sand restraints fall away and she's helped to her feet, and her scroll is placed in her hands._

_"Don't make me regret this," Kankuro murmurs, closing Koemi's hands around the scroll. "Now get going,"_

_Koemi slowly backs away then takes off running in the opposite direction, jumping over tree roots and weaving through trees until she eventually stumbles upon Fuyuko and Haru, resting beside a river just a few yards away. She hurries to the two, tightly gripping the scroll._

_"About time you found us," Fuyuko says, standing up from the rock she was sitting on._

_"Are you alright?" Haru asks, "You scared us just vanishing like that,"_

_"Sorry, I got lost," Koemi apologizes,_

_"Looks like more than that," Haru says, approaching Koemi and rubbing his thumb under an abrasion on the side of Koemi's chin. "Were you attacked?"_

_"I guess you can say," Koemi murmurs,_

_"By what? A tree?" Fuyuko chuckles; Koemi timidly nods._

_"You tripped, didn't you?" Haru asks; Koemi nods again. "Alright," He sighs, pulling out a bandage and sticking it on Koemi's face. "That should hold ya until we get outta here,"_

_"Good, now can we get moving before the baby gets lost again?" Fuyuko scoffs before crossing the river by jumping across rocks to the other side._

_Haru follows after Fuyuko; Koemi glances at the scroll in her hand._

_/"Don't make me regret this,"/_

_She tightly gripped the scroll and followed her teammates across the river and further into the forest.~_

Chou yips and catches Koemi's attention, she looks and sees Chou holding her own smaller headband in her mouth. Koemi kneels down and takes the headband from Chou,

"You wanna head out today?" Koemi asks; Chou happily yips and hops up against Koemi, her paws against Koemi's stomach as the Jonin ties the headband around Chou's neck so it draped loosely and the metal plate lied against the pup's chest. "Alright, let's get going," She says, standing and walking to the door, Chou trotting along behind her.

The two step out on the street and walk along, coming up to the local flower shop, Chou runs ahead excitedly as she sees Ino setting up some potted plants just outside the shop. The excited barking catches the blonde's attention, she crouches down and catches the pup as she leaps into her arms.

"Hey there, Chou," Ino greets, scratching the pup behind her ear as Koemi approaches. "Glad to see you're back," Ino says as she stands, Chou lovingly nuzzling against her.

"Yeah, I had to be here for Haru's final battle yesterday in the Chunin exam," Koemi explains, "But at least everyone else seems to be alright since I've been gone for so long, but how have things been going?" She asks,

"Pretty well for the most part," Ino says as she hands Chou to Koemi, "It's actually been a lot more peaceful since Naruto headed off a while back,"

"Right," Koemi chuckles, "That troublemaker of a friend Fuyuko has, they seem perfect for each other almost."

"As friends or as a couple?" Ino teases,

"Friends," Koemi giggles, "Believe me, Fuyuko is not one for that kind of commitment, not unless she really enjoys the person she's with, which wouldn't be around here because how everyone lives so quietly around here."

"Right," Ino chuckles, "But I better get back to work, I'll see you around."

"I hope so," Koemi says, setting Chou down before taking off as Ino heads into her family's flower shop. "Well, Ino definitely seems less-bratty," She sighs, gazing up at the sky, her thoughts fading to Kankuro once more.

_/He seems to be on my mind more and more now, it's strange, but I don't seem to mind it./_

She chuckles and quickly crosses an intersection, heading towards the training fields to prepare herself for her next journey-to possible the biggest part of her life.


	3. Journey To Sunagakure

Koemi was the only one eager when she woke the next morning, earlier than she usually would wake during a normal day in Konohagakure, but they had to head out early to get to their destination in time-Sunagakure. She had packed for the trip the night before and eagerly gathers her stuff, as well as Chou from her bed sitting at the foot of Koemi's, and heads to the gates to meet up with the others. She finds her two other teammates exhausted from their early wakening, waiting at the gates with Tomoko, who cheerfully greets Koemi as she and Chou approach.

"Good morning Koemi," Tomoko greets, "I'm glad to see one of us is eager for the mission," Koemi nods excitedly, not being able to form words in her half hyper, half still sleepy brain processes. "Well, let's head out then,"

With that, the squad heads out the gates and onto their path to Sunagakure in the chill of dawn and the shadows of the forest around them. As noon approached after the chill of dawn thaws away, Fuyuko is awake enough to traverse the path through the trees above, following the group as she gracefully leaped from branch to branch and knocked loose several fresh, green leaves of the spring awakened trees, causing them to rain down on the group below.

"Fuyu, you're such a monkey!" Haru beckons to the girl hopping the branches above,

"Better than a weasel!" Fuyuko yells back, leaping to her next branch; Haru simply chuckles while shaking his head.

"Damn annoyance," Haru sighs,

"She's certainly a free spirit, isn't she?" Tomoko chuckles,

"Has been since she graduated the academy," Haru states,

"She's a wild wind," Koemi adds,

"Indeed she is," Tomoko sighs, gazing up at Fuyuko as she stops to rest on a branch. "And has the burning passion of a true Leaf Chunin,"

"As suited for the Land of Fire," Haru says,

"Which is why she belongs here, not that frozen tundra she came from." Tomoko comments as they pass Fuyuko from below, "C'mon Fuyuko, you can't wait around forever,"

"Fine," Fuyuko groans before continuing on after the three,

Eventually, the white-haired ninja's tree hijinx ends at the edge of the forest, which was now flat grassland that would eventually turn into the desert they had to trek through to reach the village. Fuyuko groans as she walks down the side of her last tree to reach the ground,

"Damn desert heat," Fuyuko mutters, "Kills any damn trees in yards of it,"

"Calm down Fuyu," Haru says as the group continues on, "I'm sure Sunagakure was plenty of buildings for you to do your acrobatics on,"

Fuyuko just mutters angrily, glaring at the ground and kicking any stone that scrolled into her sight.

"Stubborn as always," Haru chuckles, shaking his head before looking to the sky. "I wonder what Sunagakure is like? I mean, in Konohagakure, we have cool springs, mild summers, cool falls and chilly winters, and we have normal weather of rain and sun and anything else. I wonder what their everyday lives are like?" Haru wonders,

"Always the thinker, aren't you Haru?" Tomoko chuckles,

"I'm kinda curious too," Koemi speaks up, "I mean, we live in the middle of a forest while they live in the middle of the desert, surely our lifestyles are very different from one another."

"Very true," Tomoko says, "I actually spent a week there myself on an assignment as a Jonin, it was rather strange, but you eventually adjust to it."

"I hope so," Haru says, "You know how horrible I am with adjusting to new places,"

"Well, now you can practice with that Haru," Tomoko says, "I've personally set some goals for each of your during this mission, some will be immediately accomplished, others will take some time, but I know you can do it."

"Goals huh? Like what?" Fuyuko asks,

"Well, some are based off your weaknesses-such as Haru's adaptation ability, your intolerance to heat and Koemi's timidity." Tomoko explains, "Others are more based on certain parts of your lives, but you'll find them out in due time."

"Meh, always keeping secrets," Fuyuko grumbles, "Freaky ass sensei,"

The 4 continue walking along, grasslands soon transforming into barren desert, which Fuyuko struggles to traverse due to her lack of experience of walking on sand and soon ends up being shamefully carried by Tomoko through the desert.

"It's alright Fuyuko," Koemi consoles to her friend as they continue on, "Not everyone is skilled in walking on sand,"

"Says you," Fuyuko groans, pulling her scarf up around her mouth and nose as a small sandstorm kicks up. Haru does the same with his collar and Koemi with her sash while picking up Chou to protect her from the sand. Tomoko steals the end of Fuyuko's scarf to help protect against the sandstorm.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the storm passes and reveals Sunagakure just ahead of them.

"There it is, not much further now," Tomoko says, continuing forward as Koemi and Haru dust the sand off their clothes...as well as Chou, who whines from the sand grains in her fur.

"Don't worry Chou, we'll be in the village soon," Koemi reassures the pup as she pulls down her sash to drape around her shoulders,

After what seemed like miles they traversed, they finally reach the gates of Sunagakure and enter the village. Fuyuko climbs off of Tomoko's back and goes to join her teammates, looking over the village before them in awe.

"This is amazing," Haru gasps, "So many structures built so large and sturdy, merely by clay and sand."

"It is pretty cool," Koemi says, holding Chou close against her chest.

Fuyuko looks around then begins to chuckle as she nods, "I'm definitely gonna have some fun around here,"

"Just don't do anything illegal Fuyu," Haru warns as the group makes their way into the village,

"I assume we need to find the Kazekage's office first before anything," Koemi says,

"That's correct, luckily, the Kage office in every village is always noticeable," Tomoko states, "It's always the tallest building in the village,"

"So we're heading for that?" Fuyuko says, pointing out the largest sand structure that could be seen, even from their location.

"That would be it," Tomoko chirps, "Let's get moving then,"

The group begins making their way to the Kazekage office, prepared for a mission-but not for the events to come after they step into the Kazekage's office.


End file.
